Last night, Prof. Charles Tompkins of Furman University gave an overview of
the organ music of J.S. Bach for the 2018 Central Florida Pipe Organ
Encounter. He gave a representative sampling of Bach's repertoire in an
hour and fifteen minutes, preceding each piece with a brief talk. If there
was one central theme that stood out in his talks, it was Bach's talent for
synthesis: integration of musical styles from different countries.
The evening opened with a stunning performance of BWV 564. Prof. Tompkins
highlighted German, French, and Italian influences on the different
sections of the piece, and then played from memory. The Toccata was
performed with a great deal of North German flair, and a number of
well-placed manual changes in the main portion that highlighted the
different motifs employed. Prof. Tompkins resisted the temptation to
over-ornament the Adagio and gave a beautifully tasteful rendition of it.
The Grave, to my delight, was also tastefully ornamented, with some added
appoggiaturas, arpeggiations, and trills that I hadn't heard before. The
Fugue was a delight, and taken at a brisk tempo. This was one of the most
compelling and musically engaging performances of this piece I've heard in
a long time - and from a technical standpoint it was extremely well-done,
with a very clean and crisp touch overall. There were a lot of "novel"
touches that gave me food for thought in my own performances.
Following this, Prof. Tompkins discussed the importance of chorale-based
music in Bach's organ repertoire. He performed "Wachet auf" - also from
memory - and to my ear chose the perfect tempo for it. It came off superbly
on the Stetson Beckerath.
This was followed by a discussion of German liturgical practices,
specifically regarding the brief organ "interludes" between phrases of a
chorale. Prof. Tompkins played two recordings of "Vom himmel hoch" - one
was the unadorned chorale, and the other was with organ accompaniment and
interludes between the verses - a stunning rendition that I will have to
track down for myself. This served as the background to a live performance
of BWV 729 ("In dulci jubilo").
Prof. Tompkins then discussed Bach's familiarity with music of other
composers and his habit of transcribing works for organ. He gave the
students some background on Baroque concerti and ritornello form as well.
He played a recording of the 8th concerto from Vivaldi's "L'estro armonico"
and followed it with a performance of the first movement of BWV 593.
We were then treated to a "reverse transcription" of the first movement of
the 4th Trio Sonata, along with a brief history of the trio sonata. Prof.
Tompkins then played the first movement from memory. His registration was
well-chosen, though I would perhaps have been interested to hear him
demonstrate some alternate possibilities for the students.
The evening closed with a performance of the St. Anne's prelude, preceded
by a discussion of French overture style, and gave a rather new take on the
piece, analyzing it as a ritornello form. Prof. Tompkins chose to register
the main theme on the Hauptwerk and the second and third themes on the
secondary manuals throughout the whole piece, with pedal registrations to
correspond. I confess that, particularly, for the second iteration of the
third theme, I missed a fuller pleno - but, having heard this piece so many
times, I was thrilled to hear something different. This piece was also
played from memory, with great technical mastery and an abundance of
musicality.
Although I've known of Prof. Tompkins for some time, prior to this week I
had never heard him play or speak, in person or otherwise. I see now that
I've been missing out! He is an engaging and highly knowledgeable speaker,
and a truly excellent player. I am hoping that last night's lecture was
recorded, and that I will be able to get a copy of it. He did a truly
outstanding job of giving a 75-minutes "sampling" of the Bach organ oeuvre,
and the musicality of his playing demonstrates a deep love for the music.
Sincerely,
Josiah
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